AP – Two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were arrested after a bar dispute that broke out early Sunday after patrons complained the women were having sex in a bathroom stall, a police arrest report said. Police reports named the women, but The Tampa Tribune reported officials were checking into whether one of them gave a false identification. One woman was charged with battery, and the other with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Both women were released on bond later Sunday

The women were locked in a stall at about 2:10 a.m. Sunday when other patrons got angry they were taking so long in the bathroom, the police report said. The women left the stall, and one began arguing with another patron of Banana Joe’s, eventually hitting that patron in the face with a closed fist, police said.

The incident happened 11 hours before the kickoff of the Panthers’ NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The cheerleaders traveled to Tampa on their own because members of the team’s Top Cats squad are on the sidelines only at home games. Panthers officials told The Charlotte Observer at Sunday’s game that they were aware of the reported incident, but declined further comment.

If they had been smart about this, they could have made thousands with a pay-per-view special.
Update: The Carolina News 14 variant of the AP story has photos and additional information.

A Carolina Panthers cheerleader whose name appears on a police report in connection with a fight in a bathroom at a Tampa, Florida, bar says she wasn’t there at the time of the incident. One of the two women arrested by police identified herself as a cheerleader for the team, and even gave the name and address of one of the cheerleaders.

WCNC TV in Charlotte interviewed Kristen Owen, whose name is on the police report. She says she was attending a wedding in Columbia, South Carolina, at the time of the incident. Her father says he wants the situation cleared up.

A second woman, Angela Keithley, was positively identified as a TopCat cheerleader and is charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Well, these type of stories don’t come along every day. As we’re sure most of you have heard by now, two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were arrested in Tampa early Sunday morning after, police say, the two of them were getting them some Sheryl Swoopes in the bathroom. That itself isn’t illegal (thank God!); punching a woman who was complaining about the wait outside the bathroom is.

So far, the cheerleaders are saying it’s a case of mistaken identity, which, if true, freaking sucks. But, if police reports are to be believed, we’re dealing with Renee and Angela. Not surprisingly, it’s darned-near impossible to get on their official Panthers bio pages right now — though we think it’s worth the wait — but Panthers officials emphasize that they made the trip to Tampa on their own; the team does not have cheerleaders for road games.

We could go on and on about this, and rest assured, we will. But for now, we’re just going to reemphasize that two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were allegedly having sex with each other in the bathroom of a Florida bar. We totally went to the wrong bars this weekend.

Apparently, the delay at the bathroom entrance caused other club-goers to get frustrated with the bathroom line wait and sparked the alleged incident.

Haven’t we all been there? It’s like the best beer ad you’ve ever seen, only real.

A little background:

Angela is an RN, according to her official Panthers’ bio, and her favorite quote is fortuitous: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” Amen, sister.

Renee is a student and says the most important thing in life is to, “Live every moment to the fullest and love like you’ll never be hurt.” Agreed.

[…]

I fully expect the two women to be booted, whether or not the team waits for the law. But their careers have just begun. (Hello, Maxim!)

One suspects, yes.

Joe Ovies, blogging at AM850’s site, gets in a “No sex in the champagne room” line and has another photo of the woman he describes as “My girl Angela is on the B-team that doesn’t cheer for road games.”

A more flattering picture of Renee, left, is from her Carolina Panthers bio page.

Police said they arrested two women after they got into a fight with a woman in a Florida night club. Patrons of the bar allege that the women were having sex in one of the stalls. One of the women identified herself to police as a cheerleader for the Carolina Panthers but police have since questioned that identification.

According to police records, they arrested Kristen Lanier Owen, 22, and Angela Ellen Keathley, 26, the names of two Carolina Panthers TopCats. The arrest happened outside Banana Joe’s, a bar in downtown Tampa around 2:20 a.m. according to bar staff.

However, police have since questioned the identity of the woman identified as Owen saying another woman may have tried to mislead them by using Owen’s North Carolina drivers license or a false licence with Owen’s information on it. Officers said they have opened an investigation into the woman’s actual identity. 6NEWS spoke with Kristen Owen and she said she was at a wedding in Columbia, South Carolina at the time when she was supposed to be in the Tampa bar.

Owen would not comment on who the other woman was. Her mother told 6NEWS that the woman was another TopCats cheerleader.

The Panthers whipped the Buccaneers yesterday, but surfing the web, youÃ¢€™d hardly know it. All a fan can find on the internet is talk about the two Panthers cheerleaders who were allegedly having sex in a Tampa clubÃ¢€™s bathroom stall the night before.

But what is worse, is that you canÃ¢€™t get online to Panthers.com to get anything related to the game. ItÃ¢€™s crashed, and been replaced by a Panthers.com graphic for the time being. No quotes, no notes, no stats and no video highlights.

No surprise there. Judging from my own traffic, people are a lot more interested in lesbian cheerleaders than rioting in France or U.S. domestic politics.

Update: A clarification on the cheerleaders involved from an updated AP story:

Two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were charged after their arrest at a bar where witnesses told police the women had sex in a restroom. Renee Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N.C., and Angela Keathley, 26, of Belmont, N.C., were taken to Hillsborough County Jail early Sunday. Witnesses said the women were having sex in a stall with each other, angering patrons waiting in line to get into the restroom at the club in the Channelside district.

Thomas was charged with battery Sunday after allegedly striking a bar patron when she was leaving the restroom, then landed in even more trouble after police said she gave officers a driver’s license belonging to another Panthers cheerleader who was not in Tampa. Thomas, who made the trip to Florida for Sunday’s game between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was released from jail on $500 bail before police learned she was not the person she claimed to be.

Providing police with a false name is a misdemeanor. However, Thomas was charged Monday with giving a false name and causing harm to another – a third-degree felony punishable by probation or a jail term of 1 to 5 years, said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. Meanwhile, detectives are trying to determine how Thomas gained possession of the driver’s license of the third cheerleader.

Keathley, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, was released on $750 bail about an hour before the Panthers played the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium. The cheerleaders were not in town to perform at the game.

Update:

The cheerleaders have been approached by Penthouse with an offer to pose nude for the adult magazine, MSNBC-TV reported Tuesday.

Hot Lesbian Sex Lands Hot NFL Cheerleaders in Jail; but we’re not writing about it

When we first read the story of the two red hot Carolina Panther cheerleaders arrested at a bar called “Banana Joes” for engaging in steamy sex in a public restroom, we evaluated whether or not the story was Independent Sources material….

WTSP Tampa, Florida ? Two Carolina Panther cheerleaders spent the night in jail after a rough night in Channelside. The Panthers were in town to play the Bucs Sunday afternoon. Witnesses say Angela Keathley and Renee Thomas were engaged…

Frankly, we were quite disgusted that those chaps over at Independent Sources tried to google chum themselves by feigning outrage over The Story That Can Heal America’s Wounds: When we first read the story of the two red hot Carolina…

[…] After this story broke, the panters website was down for hours from all the traffic. When it came back up, these cheerleaders pics had been removed. I found some samples here and here for your enjoyment. […]

Its stuff like this that makes our country great! With terriorsm running rampant, oil prices at all time highs, and a “war” in Iraq, isnt it good to know that what really gets news two women check out each others “TopCats”.

Well, I’m glad to see that the fundie religious right is losing some ground here, in the conduct of human affairs. Job well done girls!
Personally, I’m a dallas fan and am saddened that my USDA Prime Choice cheerleaders are looking like a bunch of cloistered nuns right now. Oh well, maybe they’ll be next. After all, what would America’s team be like without a little girl on girl action? Come on jerry, let’s get some real draft picks in here!

yeah whatever…At least my beloved vikes got to score way more than just 2 HOT Girls…where’s the paparazzi with the video’s when you need them…Redskins girls got some nice outfits too with the ass cheeks showin out of the bottom (primetime game)